Springbank 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review:

For the majority of us who are only relatively aware of our options out there when it comes to single malt whiskies, the malts from the Campbeltown region of Scotland are somewhat allusive. Holding more to legends than to real facts, the Campbeltowns could be compared to what the rye whiskey used to be in the western United States during the 1800s, everywhere and in abundance. From the 1800s up until the 1900s the distilleries of Campbeltown were the most prolific whisky producers in the country with a record breaking 28 facilities producing. But due to over investment in the pre-prohibition American whiskey trade, local depression during, and a reputation for poor product throughout, Campbeltowns former glory faded into the past like the ryes of the old west. Only Glen Scotia and Springbank remain. But thankfully they do, because the characteristic dry palate of smoke and salt from a good Campbeltown is part of what makes these malts so exciting.

Specifically, Springbank is a fantastic example of a small size and independent producer. Possibly because of their historical involvement with Campbeltown, Springbank has grown in a way that lies outside the scope of many of the larger producers, always centering towards practices that produce whisky in the “old fashioned” way and not changing how they do things for a larger consumer market. From malting their own barley to bottling their own whisky and employing a local workforce, Springbank offers lessons that all the larger producers can learn from.

As fair warning, I will say that if you have arrived at this review and you have never yourself tried Scotch, or you are still relatively new to the whisky scene, Springbank is not for you. It very well may be a bit difficult to get past. In this section I detail some scotch whiskies that could be very great starters. But by all means, never let me stop you... Shall we continue?

Springbank 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review:

Price: Around $45-52 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: A craft presented bottle where they explain in plain english that they do not use caramel coloring and there is no chill filtration. What we like to see!

Alcoholic Content: 46% abv, 92 proof.

Nose: There is a maturity of the nose, even at 10 years old. Brininess hits your senses first. Sweet butterscotch and cream. Chocolate covered cherries. Salt and pepper spice. Everything you receive in the nose is a real pleaser. A nice complexity that genuinely gets me excited for the tasting. Adding water really brings down the brininess and allows for the subtle fruits to show.

Palate: Large spice arrival. Oily and faint smokiness. Ginger spice, light vanilla and honey, peppers, oak, seaweed. With the non-chill filtration a little addition of water allows for the fruit and black liquorice sweetness on the backend to come to the foreground. Bit of a dry finish.

Conclusion: At 10 years old, I don't know what else I can say. This is a fantastic dram, one that thoroughly invigorates my senses. If this is a tiny inkling of what we are to see with the older Springbank's, it should really get one excited.

Rating: Excellent/Highly Recommended

High West Campfire Whiskey Review:

I know, I know! No reviews in almost a month. This isn't how I ever want things to go. I've been busy and a bit sick, so high proof alcohol hasn’t been treating my throat very nice. But alas, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There are some genuinely exciting changes coming up for the Bourbon Intelligencer that will guarantee more reviews and whiskey content for the foreseeable future. But that is all I can say on that for now. You'll just have to wait for more news. Updates will be coming possibly within the next month or so.

Tonight we've got with us a truly revolutionary product from High West Distillery: Campfire. This thing breaks all the rules and does so with poise and courage – yes... courage. I feel that good whiskey calls for the assigning of virtuous nouns. Campfire is composed of three whiskies: a 5 and a half year old rye distilled at MGPI, a six year old bourbon also from MGPI, and finally an 8 year old peated Scotch. Where the peated Scotch is from, David Perkins at High West does not divulge, though we do know it is not from Islay or the Islands. Ultimately I am not too concerned with the origin – High West has up to this point always been straight forward with their practices and this thing is so damn delicious that we don't care too much to ask.

High West Campfire Whiskey Review:

Price: Around $50.00 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Classic High West – the necessary information included.

Alcoholic Content: 46% abv, 92 proof.

Nose: More of a honeyed and fruit nose than I expected. Dried golden raisins, toffee, cinnamon, vanilla. Only on the back end do you find traces of scotch and rye. A hint of smoke that lingers on your jacket after a weekend of camping. Sweet green apples.

Palate: Quite unique indeed. The scotch does seem to play second fiddle to the American spirits here, but the balance of all three seems to work out wonderfully. The smooth and creamy dried fruit of the bourbon, with the spice and pepper of the rye, leads very nicely into the sweetness and peaty twist of the scotch, which allows itself to be ever so present throughout.

Conclusion: High West has really done something unparalleled again. And in many ways, the name fits even better after trying it. This is not necessarily a bold and overbearing whiskey in any sense of the word. It's calming and delightful. That's what I meant by poise and courage. This experiment could have been anything, but High West took the high road and has shown they are always taking their time, always honing their craft.

Rating: Excellent/Highly Recommended

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Whiskey Review:

Within some family circles, road-tripping is their summer tradition. Nothing but “Old MacDonald” and the open road. For others, there family tradition is a cabin in the woods. A secluded place to get away from the crowds and the sweltering summer sun. For my own family, it has traditionally been the ultimate American recreational summer holiday: camping. Sure, we have had our fair share of road tripping (quite American if I say so myself), back when we all were young. And we did enjoy a cabin every now and again back in the day. But camping by and large has always been the constant pastime that has stood the test of time and keeps bringing us together each summer, even now as we have grown up and started families of our own. It has been the driving force which lifts us out of the daily grind and hustle and bustle of life in the city. No cell phones. No electricity. And many times, no running water in the “bathrooms,” as my mother jocularly calls the outhouses.

Everyone loves the time they get to read, take a day hike, or even a have a midday snooze; but – we all know that the central joys of camping, besides the trees and stars (etc.) that surround you, is the food and drink that sit in front of you. Without the these two important aspects - You. Would. Be. Done. For. Remember: THIS IS NOT BACKPACKING. THIS IS CAMPING. The idea of camping is that one should throw away their relative notion of health and well being and simply eat, drink, and be merry. Don't cook gourmet. Don't pretend your at a wine tasting party. Don't worry about calories (if your into that sort of thing). Your trying to forget your worries, not bring them with you. Of course I am not suggesting that you should subsist on Butter Horns, Entenmann's Doughnuts, Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate, Hot Dogs, and Pabst alone. But just allow yourself to relax for once. (Besides, the Hot Dogs did come hand made from the Italian market down the street. And we may have snuck a few good bottles of wine, cheeses, meat, and whiskey into the dry box to even things out...)

So as I was saying... Tradition. Camping is a wonderful tradition that has been apart of our family and will hopefully always be. I plan on making it apart of my family, whenever my Lover and I start having little ones. The point being is that with all the old traditions come new traditions, and one developing as of late is every new camping trip my father and I will bring some whiskey for the other to taste. Neither of us knows what the other will bring. This particular trip I brought two bottles. One of which is Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Whiskey Review:

Price: From $49.99 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Classic and pleasant bottle with plenty of information of the particular bottle, barrel number, warehouse, number, rick number, etc. No age statement of any kind unfortunately.

Alcoholic Content: 50.5% abv, 101 proof.

Nose: Christmas spices, spicy vanilla, dry maplewood, fresh green apple.

Palate: Warming and fresh. Red hots and peppery spice from the rye. Huge rye. Apple and caramel candy lollipops. Long char finish. Dry as hell.

Conclusion: If you like a dry bourbon then this is something you will want to try. If you are on a cliff about it, I would suggest it as a dessert bourbon. In fact, that was what I thought when I first sipped this. Chocolate and/or something salty would really allow this thing to fly. I was really pleased with with the overall balance and presentation. If anything I would say, the barrel char may be a bit overbearing.

Rating: Excellent/Highly Recommended

Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review:

There are haughty eyed consumers in every sector of the beer, wine, and spirits industry. Really snobs can be found in any industry of higher end consumer goods. Yet within the world of spirits it would be safe to say that Islay whiskies drinkers tend to have the largest majority shareholders of braggadocios. In a way it makes sense.We all know, or knew, how it was when we first found a taste for the peaty liquor. At the beginning there was some sort of barrier between you and that bottle of Ardbeg 10 staring down from the upper shelf of the bar. That huge phenolic blast that hits you when you opened up your first bottle. Those campfire fumes you could smell clear across the bar where the one person has ordered a double of Caol Ila 12. Plain and simple: Islays are intense, unique, and at times illusive with their dark bottles and strange names. So naturally when a certain person at last succeeds at conquering this chimerical style of peat and smoke, a certain air of pomp and circumstance inflates there chest whenever they walk into the bottle shop, so sure of themselves as they walk straight toward the Islay's and past.... well, past everything else. And for this very reason I have been hesitant to review largely peated whiskies until now. I have learned to enjoy peated whiskies immensely, especially over the last two years, but I have always been leery of focusing too much on them, just as I have been mindful of how much focus I give to any style of whiskey or spirit. So at last the time has come – and Laphroaig Quarter Cask, in my mind, seems to be the best tie in for an introduction to Islays in general for the blog. The style is young and vibrant, providing a classic Islay profile, yet the partial use of smaller cask in maturation provide a contemporary, à la an ancient, way of maturation, which relates perfectly to the modern day discussion of small barrel maturation in the micro-distilling industry.

Aged about 8 years, this expression is filled in second fill oak barrels for the majority of maturation, then moved into and matured in smaller quarter cask (40-55 liters), as were used for transport in the “earlier days.” Smaller barrels means more wood/whisky surface area contact and more air interaction as the cask “breaths,” hence “faster” maturation – but only faster in one sense as I have explained in other posts. The difficulty that micro-distillers are finding as they age their whiskey solely in small casks is a lack of balance which larger barrels tend to provide. But with the Quarter Cask expression, the younger age in the larger barrel provides a youthful peatiness, and the quarter cask rounds out the aging process to provide some “wear and tear” of old age.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask Scotch Review:

Price: From $59.99 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: All the necessary information and more. Everything we like to see on a “craft” expression. Green bottle means there is no need for caramel color (e150e) to be added. Non-chill filtered. Perfect.

Alcoholic Content: 48% abv, 96 proof.

Nose: Fresh peat, briny seaweed, stone and rock on ocean cliffs. Floral milk chocolate, syrupy caramel.

Palate: Incredibly delightful. I think of someone who is, though young, well spoken and confident. The buildup is smooth an gentle, from a sweet pepper introduction developing into a a huge peat monster wallop. Iodine and Smoke. Long lasting peat finish which prickles on the back of your throat.

Conclusion: What you get from this younger whiskey is not something overly complex, but rather a product where its gears are tightened and oiled. The nose, buildup, and arrival, provide ample excitement and enjoyment that will keep you coming back for more. This is what a young single malt should taste like. A successful and well articulated experimentation of differing size casks, and a whiskey that gets one excited all over again!

Rating: Excellent/Highly Recommended

Rebel Yell Bourbon Whiskey Review:

I'm a fan of inexpensive bourbon (hell, I'm a fan of inexpensive booze – who isn't?), and I constantly try to review well priced and easily accessible products on the Bourbon Intelligencer to show that one does not need to spend big bucks to be a true and well educated spirit consumer. Bourbon, specifically, is one of the best market priced spirits out there at the moment (though times are changing), and everyone should know that there are real legitimate options without breaking the bank. However, there are some products that, due to their price point, can be so tempting we are lured into buying something that we end up regretting – spending that measly $10-12 on something we could have used for a few good cups of coffee. Or better yet, you could have saved it for a more expensive, but time tested bourbon you love, right? I know how it is. You're running through Trader Joe's, trying to get in and get out, and then all of a sudden you come to the spirit rack. You already know you are spending way more on these pre-diced, pre-packed vegetables then you really should, and so you don't dare look at eye level, where all the “better-ish” stuff will be (after all – it is Trader Joe's). But look... that Rebel Yell is sooo cheap! And so it goes into the cart, back home onto the bar, and into the glass, where you realize you have made a huge mistake.

A wheated bourbon, Rebel Yell is a former Stitzel-Weller brand, now distilled by Heaven Hill's Bernheim Distillery and bottled by Luxco. And though Rebel Yell wishes to associate itself with those of the Buffalo Trace lineup, a Weller it is not. No age statement means that immediately we know it is bottled from at least four years.

Rebel Yell Bourbon Whiskey Review:

Price: From $10-$13 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Mass produced. Vague legends of whatever.

Alcoholic Content: 40% abv, 80 proof.

Nose: Phenolic and solvent-y. Corn feed and corn oils. Babe Ruth candy bar and lemons. Slight pepper.

Palate: Sweet sugar. Sour corn meal. Some faint dried fruit and woodiness. The four years is an exact four years – not one second more. This whiskey tastes very young – and watered down. 

Conclusion: As confirmed by some other reviewers, there is a young new-make scotch character to this, but ultimately what you are left with is almost a tasteless wheat spirit. Rebel Yell, the famed bourbon known more for it's cameo in Billy Idol's song and album of the same name, ranked 79^th best hard rock song by VH1, is nothing like what you would expect when hearing about the Rebel Yell drinking party with the Rolling Stones where Billy supposedly came up with the album name. In this instance, the “little dancer” won't cry “more, more, more.” Your money can be spent better on other things.

Rating: Fair/Drinkable